Portable oven for drying cable conductors



NOV- 1937- J. B. DOQLITTLE ET AL 2,100,639

PORTABLE OVEN FOR DRYING CABLE CONDUCTORS Filed Jan. 6, 1937 INVENTORS d 1111200211126- 0? BY lEMorrjsolz L. ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 30, 1937 PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE OVEN FOR DRYING CABLE CONDUCTORS John Boulware Doolittle and CharlesEastman Morrison,

Application January 6,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable oven which is particularly adapted for drying insulated conductors contained in aerial cables which have been saturated with moisture and thereby caused to break down.

It has been found that injuries, including sheath breaks, ring cuts and fatigue cracks, occurin aerial transmission cables and permit moisture to 'enter the cable sheath and cause insulation breakdown of the enclosed electrical conductors. This causes short-circuiting, grounding or other damage to the conductors and it is necessary, in order to clear this condition, that the cable sheath be opened at the point of injury so that access may be obtained to withdraw the damaged portions of the conductors so that they may be properly treated by the application of heat and thoroughly dried.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a portable oven which may be readily applied to a cable at the point of injury to supply heat whereby the moisture-saturated insulated conductors contained in the cable may be effectively and expeditiously dried. This and further objects will be apparent from the following description, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

Referring to the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device, a portion of the casing being broken away to show the cable and its insulated conductors positioned therein; Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1, the end plates, illustrated in Fig. 5, being removed to show the interior of the casing; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of the wire grid taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the pivoted end plates of the device.

The device disclosed in the drawing comprises a casing which may be made from any suitable sheet metal. This casing is provided with an upper chamber 5 and a lowerchamber 6. The upper chamber 5 may be of substantially rectangular shape and this chamber forms a drying oven for thecable conductors, which oven is preferably lined with asbestos. The lower chamber 6 is also shown as being of substantially rectangular formation and extends in a perpendicular direction from the chamber 5. An intermediate chamber is provided between the chambers 5 and 6, and the walls 1 of the intermediate chamber interconnect the walls of the chambers 5 and 6.

The casing for the upper chamber 5 is provided Kansas City, Mo.

1937, Serial No. 119,340

with a pivoted front panel portion 8 which is hinged at 9. This pivoted portion has a staple which cooperates with a hasp l secured to the cover or roof portion II, whereby said pivoted panel may be locked in a closed position or released to an open position. The improved oven is adapted to be attached to a messenger wire II, which supports the cable It, at any point where the cable may be damaged. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the cover or roof portion l I may be hooked over the messenger wire.

The cable I! is shown in Fig. 1 as having part of its sheath removed, disclosing the contained electrical conductors I l in position in the drying chamber 5. The front panel 8 is shown in closed position and the ends of the cable ii are shown as extending beyond the ends of the drying chamber 5. The ends of said chamber are provided with adjustable plates or doors l5, l5 as more clearly shown in Fig. 5, which have their bottom portions pivoted'together at point It to the end walls of the chamber 5. The shapes of the plates l5, l5 are such that when in closed position their adjacent edges form a circular aperture which snugly engages about the sheath of the cable and the other portions of said plates fit against the end walls of the chamber 5. With the front panel 8 and the plates or doors I 5, l5 closed as described a closure is provided for the chamber 5 so that when heat is applied thereto, as will be presently described, its loss is substantially prevented and air drafts are reduced to a minimum.

A longitudinal grille ll may be applied to the bottom of the chamber 5 and may be supported by a ledge l8 extending inwardly from the walls of said chamber. A handle I! may be affixed to the cover or roof portion H, to facilitate handling the device, and a flue 20 may be provided through said portion adjacent the handle to permit the escape of fumes. 40

The lower chamber 6 provides a compartment for the reception of a can 2| or other container in which a supply of solidified alcohol, canned heat or the like may be stored. The can 2| is shown as being seated on the perforated bottom of the chamber and in engagement with a spring clip 22 which is secured to the rear wall of the chamber. A door 23, hinged to the casing of the chamber 6, is provided for access to the can 2| and a pivoted fastener 24 serves to lock the door.

In the preparation of the cable for repairs, incision or removal of a section of the sheath is made at the point of injury where moisture has entered and caused a breakdown of the insulated conductors. When suitable access is had to the conductors they arejseparated and fanned out as much as possible. The portable oven may be applied to the'cable at this point by hooking the cover ll over the messenger wire and so positioning the cable as to permit it to extend through the hinged end doors of the chamber 5. When the cable is in position these hinged doors are closed about the cable and the front panel is closed and locked by means of the hasp and staple. Light may he applied to ignite the contents ot. the can 2| which supplies heat to dry the moisture-saturated conductors. This heat circulates from the lower chamber through the upper drying chamber 5 in which the conductors H are located, and. the drying process is continued until the conductors are shown by suitable tests to be thoroughly freed from moisture. The oven may be detached from the cable and messenger strand at this time and suitable soldering.

operations are performed on the cable sheath to restore its original condition.

While the arrangements of this invention have been illustrated as embodied in certain specific forms which have been deemed desirable, it will be understood that they are capable of embodiment in many and widely varied forms without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 39 1. In a device for drying the insulation of conductors of. a cable from which the sheath has been removed, a casing having two interconnected chambers disposed in perpendicular relation with respect to each other, means for holding insulated conductors in one of said chambers, said conductors having their sheath portions extending through the ends of the casing, a source of heat in the other chamber for heating the first-mentioned chamber and drying the moisture from the insulated conductors therein, and means pivotaliy associated with the ends of the casing and encircling the sheath portions of the cable for confining the heat within the casing.

2. In a device adapted to be attached to a messenger strand for drying the insulation of the conductors of the aerial cable suspended from the messenger strand, and from which the sheath has been removed, a casing having two interconnected chambers disposed in perpendicular relation with respect to each other, means for holding insulated conductors in one chamber of the casing, a source of heat in the other chamber of the casing for heating the first-mentioned chamber and drying the moisture from the insulated conductors in the first-mentioned chamber, and means associated with the casing for attaching it to a messenger strand to suspend it therefrom.

JOHN BOULWAREDOOLI'I'ILE. CHARLES'EASTMAN MORRISON. 

